The present invention relates to an apparatus or method for a puzzle or amusement based on an arrangement of puzzle objects with hinge elements and holes to accommodate rope elements that may have knot elements that must be concealed in tunnels formed by the holes; FIG. 1 depicts several embodiments.
FIG. 2 shows the classic “Fifteen Puzzle” (which became popular in the 1880's), where a goal is to slide the pieces to put the numbers in order. An advantage of the version shown in FIG. 2 is that whether solved or not, its pieces always remain together (via shapes attached to portions of the tiles that engage adjacent tiles and the frame); for example, the puzzle can be repeatedly picked up, manipulated (without necessarily solving it) and put down. We refer to puzzles with this property as having the connected property. A disadvantage of the Fifteen Puzzle is that it is so well known so as not to provide significant interest for many people at this point in time. It achieves the connected property in a different way than aspects of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows the now famous “Rubik's Cube” (which became popular in the 1980's), described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,116 to Rubik, where a central assembly combined with shapes attached to portions of the pieces (left in FIG. 3) are used to keep the puzzle together in a 3×3×3 cube shape (right in FIG. 3) that can be manipulated to make each face a single color. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,201 to Nicholas describes a puzzle where groups of cube faces are joined with magnets for functionality like a 2×2×2 version of Rubik's Cube, as depicted in FIG. 4. Although Rubik's Cube and the puzzle of the Nicholas patent have the connected property, solving is too difficult for many people; both of these puzzles achieve the connected property in a different way than aspects of the present invention.
FIG. 5A depicts the pieces of the well-known “Soma Cube” (which became popular in the 1960's) that can be assembled in many ways into a 3×3×3 cube. Many variations of puzzles based on pieces of this type have since been made, of which the “Bedlam Cube” of FIG. 5B is an example (see also the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,784,392 and 4,844,466, both to Johnson and Johnson); such puzzles have the disadvantage that when not solved, one is left with a collection of pieces (they not have the connected property). FIG. 5C shows on the left the pieces of the “Yamato Burr Puzzle” from the 1920's, where its pieces can be assembled into the shape shown on the right in FIG. 5C; numerous burr puzzles have been made for over a century (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 430,502 to Altekruse), and they all have the same disadvantage as the Soma Cube of being left with multiple pieces when unsolved (that is, they also do not have the connected property). Many other approaches to puzzle design have the same disadvantage of not having the connected property (e.g., see the U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,248 to Winter that employs interlocking cubes).
FIG. 6A shows the well known “Rubik's Snake” (which became popular in the 1990's), where plastic pieces are joined so that faces can rotate against each other (left in FIG. 6A), and the puzzle can be manipulated into the diamond shape (right in FIG. 6A). Joining puzzle objects by faces that rotate with respect to each other is different than the method of joining with hinge elements that is an aspect of the present invention. “Kev's Cubes”, described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,072 to Dryer, is another example from the prior art of a puzzle that has the connected property; 27 cubes linked by an elastic cord (shown on the left in FIG. 6B) can be configured into a 3×3×3 cube (shown on the right in FIG. 6B). Like Rubik's Snake, Kev's Cubes joins cubes via faces rotating against each other, and again, is different than the method of joining with hinge elements that is an aspect of the present invention; it also has the disadvantage that the use of an elastic cord to connect the pieces makes for what can be a less than satisfying puzzle to manipulate and store, and it also suffers from the disadvantage of being prone to wearing out.
FIG. 7 shows the “Warhol Cube” puzzle from the prior art that has the connected property, where eight cubes are attached along certain edges via a flexible material so that they can be folded into a 2×2×2 cube. Also as shown in FIG. 7, this 2×2×2 cube can be unfolded in two different ways to form a 2×4×1 array, and then in both cases that 2×4×1 array can be folded lengthwise to form another 2×4×1 array. This puzzle is an amusement that is easy to manipulate, and with graphics on the surfaces so that when picked up it can be easily folded into the 2×2×2 cube and other arrangements to display different combinations of the graphics (Andy Warhol art). A disadvantage of this puzzle is that it may be less pleasant or interesting to use than puzzles designed according to aspects of the present invention, and also, the flexible connections can wear out.